LG to deliver 40" OLED panels in 2012, will be cheaper than LCDs in 2016

In addition to announcing that its 15" OELD display will hit Korean shelves in November, LG revealed plans to release 20"-plus OLED panels in 2010, 30"-plus in 2011, and 40"-plus in 2012 -- quite the outlook. While smaller panels will use sixth-generation substrates with a low-temperature polycrystal silicon, OLED panels larger than 40" will require eight-generation size glass substrates.

According to LG's OLED sales and marketing VP Won Kim, eighth-generation substrates will require LG to develop equipment that can handle a temperature of over 700 degrees Celsius. The company says oxide semiconductor is one of the candidate materials to be used for large panels, but it has a low reproducibility because of variations among lots. It was also made known that fluorescent materials will be used until 2011, followed by phosphorescent materials.

LG hopes to achieve a 50% higher material cost and a 30% lower yield than those of LCD panels in 2012, and a 20-30% lower material cost with an equivalent yield in 2016 -- meaning that 40" OLED displays may be cheaper than their LCD counterparts in 7 years.